The visits, held on Thursday, 23^rd April and Friday, 24^th April, 2026, respectively, formed part of the Director-General’s continued direct engagement with Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across the country.

For the Authority, stakeholder engagement is not ceremonial but it is central to how the Authority fulfils its mandate. Through Strategic Objective No. 2 on Stakeholder Engagement, visits to HEIs allow HEA to see institutions as they are, appreciate their strengths, understand their challenges and gather the evidence needed to advise the Minister, regulate institutions, coordinate the development of higher education and promote quality assurance, as provided under the Higher Education Act, 2013, Part II Section 6(1).

At CBU, the Director-General engaged Management on institutional matters, including the payment of student levy and the University’s continued role in teaching, research and innovation.

At ZUCT, the Director-General toured the institution’s facilities, including its Smart Centre and e-labs, and appreciated the University College’s specialised role in technical education and ICT training.

The Copperbelt tour highlighted the importance of direct engagement between the regulator and institutions, especially as the higher education subsector continues to expand in size, complexity and strategic importance.

The visit to ZUCT, for instance, brought to the fore governance and infrastructure issues that require continued policy support, while also revealing strong potential in ICT, data science, artificial intelligence and technical skills development.

The visit to CBU reaffirmed the significance of Zambia’s public universities in advancing research, innovation and human capital development.

Together, the two visits demonstrated the importance of getting out of the office and into the institutions, where higher education is actually delivered.

As HEA continues implementing its mandate of “Ensuring Quality in Higher Education,” the Copperbelt tour stands as a reminder that regulation is strongest when it is informed by engagement, evidence and presence.

#HigherEducationZambia #HEAZambia

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